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God

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Holy Spirit

“Children of the Earth, listen to me now. Let go of resistance to moving forward. Let go of fear. Let go of hatred. Let go of resentment & blame, for holding onto these only causes more pain & suffering for you all. In order to lessen pain & suffering, one must move forward in your lives & allow love, peace, healing, wholeness, grace & truth to come forward. Are you allowing these to come forward in your words, actions, thoughts? Or are you allowing rigidity, negativity, resistance, hate, anger & fear to come forward in your words, actions, thoughts? The physical is a place of manifestation of the sum total of your thoughts, words, actions, energies & more from all levels of your being. In order to have joy, one must let go of hate & negativity. In order to be happy, one must let go of obsession & addiction. In order to experience peace, one must be willing to let go of contention & aggression. In order to have grace, one must be willing to let go of control & willfulness. All of these things & more stand in the way of what you truly desire. Why do you feel that others outside of you stand in the way? You are so busy standing in your own way that no one else has a chance to do so. Look around you. What do you see? I see the children of God lost at sea. The sea of negativity within themselves everywhere. Let this go as it does not serve anyone. The negativity is within you & this causes you to drown, not the negativity of others. “…take the log out of your own eye, for then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.” Matthew 7:3-5  Follow in the way you should go for your sake & allow others to be responsible for themselves. In this way, the wheat is separated from the chaff. You must each take responsibility for yourselves, your lives, choices, actions, reactions, emotions, thoughts, words. Seek to do what is best in all things & allow others to do what they will. Life & God will take care of them. It is not your job to do so. Of course, I am not speaking of those who are unable to care for themselves. I am speaking of the willful. Be merciful, loving & full of care for the those who are unable to care for themselves. In this way, you demonstrate the care that God has for you. I now leave you with these words spoken by Jesus: “I am the Way, the Truth & the Life. No one comes to the Father/God except through Me. If you really know me, you will know my Father/God as well.” John 14:6-7″

“I am the Holy Spirit.”

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The Will to Forgive

Greetings!

I would like to talk today about forgiveness & what it means to forgive. Almost 25 years ago, I was learning the basics of “forgiveness work.”  I had been learning for awhile & was becoming proficient but at this point was unaware that I was “hearing.”  What I mean by this is that I suspected I could hear Spirit talking to me but I had no proof of this because the voice came through the sound of my own thoughts & I could not discern the difference. Spirit’s voice sounded just like my own thoughts so how was I to know? Well, on this day, I learned many things.

At the time, I was working with many other therapists in an wholistic center. On this particular day, an appointment with a new client was rapidly arriving that I was worried about. This client had been seen by some of the other therapists & I had heard stories from them that I did not want to experience. I had intended to do forgiveness work ahead of time about this client to hopefully prevent any negative interaction but here I was, 10 minutes before the appointment time, having done nothing. I was panicked & worried about what to do with so little time.

As I got my room ready for the appointment, thinking fast & furiously, I decided that the only thing to do would be to simply forgive this client for EVERYTHING. What I mean by this is that I had no time to look for any specific issues between us in the way I normally would.

I began saying statements of forgiveness, large, wholesale statements that bundle up all possibilities. The room preparation kept my hands & body busy on autopilot as my mind was occupied thinking about all that I might need to forgive & what to say next while I was saying the statements out loud. I was all in with my statements since I sincerely did not want to create anything even remotely similar to what I had heard from others with this client. I was working fast & passionately on many levels.

Well, the time of the appointment was almost at hand & I was focused in my thoughts on the statement that I was in the middle of saying out loud when suddenly, right over the top of my thoughts & my words, I heard this in my mind clear as a bell:

“THAT IS THE HIGHEST BEST USE OF WILL.”

I was stunned. In the moment, I knew immediately that what I heard was not my thought because I was fully occupied with the statement that I was in the middle of actively thinking of & saying out loud. It was also a VERY LOUD THOUGHT. It was not subtle or quiet or vague. There was no question regarding it. It flowed through me, my mind & right over the top of my own thoughts & speaking voice with ease. I “heard” it so clearly that I was left with no doubts even as to WHO was speaking to me.

It was God. I knew this for a fact. It was one of those moments in my life when I could say I know that I know that I know.

For myself, this experience proved to me that I was hearing Spirit, that I was capable of hearing Spirit & that not all thoughts are my own thoughts. I was also greatly relieved. I’d had a secret fear since childhood that the physical was it. I remember wishing, dreaming & praying that there was more to reality than just the physical. Of course, I probably didn’t call it the physical or reality but thought of it as just “here.” But it was such a deep secret worry & fear that it stayed with me until that moment.

The message itself was also quite clear to me. There are many misuses of Will. We can probably look at ourselves & our lives in the past & see many instances where we have been willful, self-willed, weak-willed or lacked will entirely. God was telling me that I was using my Will in that moment to forgive fully & completely & “That is the highest best use of Will.” I was being commended for my use of Will. This implied that my personal, small will was aligned to God’s Will.

Stop & think about this. God bothered to step in & speak to me in that moment not only about Will but also about forgiveness. What does this say about forgiveness? The implication is that forgiveness is very important. I’ve had many clients feel upset by forgiveness & the wording of forgiveness statements because it causes them to feel blamed & responsible when they feel hurt, wounded & victimized.

I had not even met this client & here I was forgiving. I remember telling myself there was no time to look for my possible issues from past lives or anywhere else for that matter. This was a new lifetime & the past didn’t matter anymore. I could just bundle it all up & forgive everything. So that is what I did. That’s forgiveness.

At some point in time, it doesn’t really matter anymore what happened, only that you or others are suffering. You have to ask yourself:  “Am I ready to let go & forgive so that I can stop the suffering, my own & others?” Although, I would like to point out that the purpose of forgiveness is for you. I was forgiving this client because I did not want to experience any suffering due to negative interactions with this client. It was worth it to me to forgive ahead of time to ensure that our time together would be productive rather than destructive. We had an amazing appointment together & I saw this client many times afterwards. This is the power of forgiveness.

God’s Will for you is for you to forgive so that you can end the suffering. This was my takeaway from this experience. I have continued forgiveness work for 25 years, both my own & with others. I hope you will join me so that we can end the suffering for us all.

Love to you all in the Light and Love of God, Dawn

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God’s Will?

Greetings!

I just love it when legislators and religious experts band together and decide what is right for everyone, especially for the disenfranchised, the oppressed, the poor, the marginalized, the minority or anyone who isn’t “NORMAL” by their standards. Their standards being white, male, wealthy and upper class. Oh and religious, especially the “religious right”. Because, you know, their standards are the correct and officially sanctioned ones by God. I feel that everyone should have the right to practice their beliefs in the way that they believe without anyone else interfering.

This week, in my State of Indiana, the legislators/”religious right” experts are deciding the medical fate of the women in Indiana because women can’t be trusted to do this on their own without guidance i.e. religious guidance. So the Indiana State Congress has taken it on their broad shoulders to call a special session to dictate to us when, where, how, if and under what circumstances, we can be allowed to decide to have an abortion.

What no on seems to realize is that this is really a personal medical decision, first and foremost, best made by each individual woman. Secondly, she may or may not notify the possible father because of the first reason. Thirdly, the religion/religious beliefs of others have no bearing on this choice and decision made by each individual woman. Fourth, there is no federal law in our country outlawing abortion as murder at this time, therefore, there is no basis for any individual state to be allowed to have any opinion about it, whatsoever. Fifth, in our country there is historically supposed to be SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. This attempt by the state to abolish and limit abortion is blatant “religious right” morality imposed on everyone through our government. THIS SHOULD TERRIFY EVERYONE. Remember Nazi Germany? The Holocaust? Rwanda? Slavery? The Civil War? Our Revolutionary War? ANY HISTORY AT ALL, ANYWHERE, EVER? Why and how do you think our country got started to begin with? Because nearly all of our ancestors were OPPRESSED! They couldn’t practice their religion the way they believed! There was no freedom to live their lives in the way they chose! They were in bondage or enslaved, they were treated badly, they had no rights! THIS is the foundation of our country. We are allowing the foundation of democracy and freedom in our country to be destroyed. WAKE UP! What freedoms will we lose next? Freedom of religious choice? Freedom of speech? Freedom from persecution because of race, religion, color, gender, belief, more? Go along with this and let’s see what other freedoms we will soon lose in our country.

The New Colossus
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” Sonnet by Emma Lazarus

This is the entire poem dedicated to Lady Liberty in New York Harbor. She probably greeted yours and my ancestors as they immigrated here to the United States. I only hope we can continue to live up to her promise.

Once we as a country and as a people allow any particular religion, even a majority religion such as Christianity, to infiltrate the government and begin dictating laws and moral codes for the whole based on those beliefs, is the day we all lose our freedoms both individually and as a whole. This is a fact. You can look into the history of any country or continent on the planet and see the pattern of what happens when religion rules over the government and the people through the government. It does not matter what religion it is because once religion takes over, it becomes more important than the people. This is also why religion has no place in our government because ours was founded on the precept of “government by the people, for the people”. This is not possible when any religion becomes involved with government because it will no longer be “by the people, for the people” but “by the church, for the church.”

Religions are like corporations in this regard, once established, they take on a life of their own. They become more invested in securing their own power and authority than in the general welfare and desires of the people. You can see this also in history. You may think this only happens in other countries or in other time periods. It does not. History repeats itself when no one learns the lessons that history offers. Of course, since we seem to be on the verge of repeating history, this may be why there is such a push to change how and what is taught in schools regarding our history. We seem to be allowing our history to be rewritten in the classroom. This sets a dangerous precedent reminiscent of the days of book burnings and prohibition. Would you like to return to those days?

Personally, I am happy to know the real history of what went down in these United States and to have the freedom to be able to read what I choose and to be able to vote and to be able to purchase alcohol if I choose and to have been able to marry who I wanted and to have been able to go to school and pursue an advanced degree. All of these freedoms and so many more that other countries under the control of religion, I would not have had in this lifetime if I did not live in these United States. Are you so willing to just throw this away in the name of one version, of one religion? I would hope that you would want your children to have the same, if not more freedoms than you got to enjoy. I know this is what I want for my daughter and grandsons and their children.

Love in the Light of the One True God of us all, Dawn

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Holy Spirit Prayer For A New World

“The Grace of God flows out over the World and clears all that it touches.”

“The Grace of God clears greed from the Hearts of Mankind and replaces it with Love.”

“The Grace of God clears hate from the Minds of Mankind and replaces it with Love.”

“The Grace of God clears jealousy and envy, betrayal and aggression from the Actions of Mankind and replaces these with Love.”

“Love is all that is needed in the Hearts, Minds and Actions of Mankind and Womankind the World over and so it is.”

Greetings!

The above prayer is an interpretation that I heard after I prayed on behalf of the World. I had asked the Holy Spirit to pray through me because I was at a loss as to what to pray. First COVID, and then the many and varied reactions to COVID and now the aftermath of grief and violence stemming from the violence that led to the death of an innocent. Somehow I keep expecting that everyone will step forward into their best selves and let go of the past and it’s racism, inequality, injustice, blame, unforgiveness, hate and greed. And somehow this hasn’t happened yet and the racism, inequality, injustice, blame, unforgiveness, hate and greed just continue to contaminate our lives, our relationships, our bodies, our world and our environment. So many speak of saving our world and the environment but what is the use of this if all the rest remains contaminated?

What if establishing equality, justice, forgiveness, love, balance and altruism within and between ourselves automatically led to an environmentally balanced World? Somehow I feel sure that it would. Until then may the Holy Spirit keep praying for us.

Love in the Light of God, Dawn

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Our Christ Selves

Greetings!

This morning I was going though my journals looking for something in particular. Of course, I did not find what I was looking for but instead found this vision/experience to share with you:

“I asked this morning when I woke up to experience God but I got “No” to this request. I then requested the Holy Spirit and heard “No” again. I then requested Christ. I heard “Yes” to this request. I closed my eyes and immediately was aware of a dolphin of all things! After a bit, I figured out that I was to hold on to it so I wrapped my arms around and it swam forward. I realized I would soon need to breathe so I tapped it with my fingers and it came up to the surface of the water. I took a deep breath and down we went again. I had the realization that I was going to slow us up if I kept stopping to breathe. Spirit then reminded me that I could breathe air from the dolphin’s air hole so I did this and we were suddenly flying through the water! I realized that the dolphin was Christ taking me home to God which I could dimly perceive as a light in the far distance. The dolphin could breathe for me and carry me quickly on my path without any effort on my part.”

“This is what the Christ does for humanity.  All we need to do is accept the lift and be carried forward swiftly and effortlessly on our path.  Trying to do everything myself only slows me up and causes stress. More surrender to Christ with & within me instead of going it alone.”

Spirit has shared with me that the Christ is a position held by nearly every head of every religion. In other words, the founder of every religion is Christed. This is not very well known as it is usually accepted that only Jesus is Christ but actually Buddha is Christ along with the others who have established the major religions of the world. Christ is Humanity’s other half, our spiritual half, our partner and together we can accomplish miracles.

Love and Light, Dawn

 

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God As Mother

Greetings!

In July, I was watching a movie called “Gladiator” starring Russell Crowe.  Near the beginning of the movie is a scene with his character, Maximus, kneeling before a makeshift altar after battle holding carved wood figures of his wife & child left behind at home.  He begins to pray.  “Ancestors, I ask for your guidance.  Blessed Mother come to me with the Gods desire for my future.  Blessed Father watch over my wife & son with a ready sword.  Whisper to them I live only to hold them again.  Ancestors, I honor you & will try to live with the dignity you’ve taught me.” 

I am only vaguely familiar with ancient Roman beliefs but I was really touched by the devotion I could feel in this prayer & it brought tears to my eyes.  Especially Maximus addressing his “Blessed Mother” which probably referred to his physical mother who had passed over since it appeared that this prayer was addressed to his ancestors.  As I didn’t realize this at first, I thought he was addressing his prayer to God as his Mother & to God as his Father.  This resonated deeply in my heart.  I have been raised in a primarily patriarchal culture that views, addresses & worships God as Father to the exclusion of God as Mother despite the fact that we are all created in God’s image & likeness & half of us are female.  Hearing Maximus address God specifically as his “Blessed Mother” with so much respect, humility & devotion made me realize what I am missing in my prayers & in my relationship with God.  For while I usually begin my prayers with “Dear Mother Father God,” they are still primarily addressed to God as Father since that is how I have been raised to think of God.  My adding “Mother” to the address has been my effort to counter the limitation that I have felt for a very long time. 

I remember the first time I saw a picture of God.  Well, not really God but someone’s vision of Melchizedek who is spoken of in the old testament bible.  He was depicted with deep piercing blue eyes & glowing white hair & figure.  I recognized him immediately.  This was the God of my childhood.  This was the God I’ve known as long as I have memory.  This was the God I’d seen as a child.  I imagine we all have images of God.  Unfortunately, our images can limit our perception of God & therefore limit our prayers & our relationship to God.  This is possibly one of the reasons for the commandment to not make graven images.  If only it were that easy!  What images of God do you carry around?  How do  your images control or limit you & your relationship to God?

For myself, this movie made me look at my images of God & decide that I have missed out on a fuller experience of God by unconsciously assuming that God is only my “Blessed Father”. 

In my home, I have an altar area in a corner.  Hanging above a small table on the left is my favorite depiction of Jesus the Christ in a gold & black frame, below it hangs an ornate gold & black cross.  On the right is an equally ornate silver, gold & ivory cross above a framed prayer.  I have been aware for many years now that the framed prayer is simply holding the space until the right picture to replace it comes along.  I have looked for this picture for years.  Temporarily, I found a black & white picture of Mother Mary cut out of the local newspaper that I particularly liked so that has been stuck in a corner of the prayer frame.  Well, exactly a month after “Gladiator” aired on TV, I finally found the right picture in a gift shop at St. Mary’s – Mary in an ornate gold antiqued silver frame.  Am I Catholic?  No, but for Christians, what better role model than Mother Mary & Mary the Magdalen.  Both of which this picture perfectly captures as well as what I felt when Maximus prayed to his “Blessed Mother”.  Have I replaced my old image of God with Jesus the Christ & Mary?  No but I feel that I have finally begun to expand my perception of God.

May You Live, Love & Laugh in the Light of God, Dawn